Two proposed gun control laws will financially burden responsible gun owners and will do nothing to fight violent crime, said area gun enthusiasts and lawmakers.

"[The bills' sponsors] have targeted, to raise revenues, the very group that is least likely to be committing those crimes, that group being law-abiding gun owners," said state Rep. Jason Barickman, R-Champaign.

The Democrat-controlled Executive House Committee approved House Bill 5831 -- sponsored by state Rep. William Davis, D-Hazel Crest -- that would require handgun owners to register their arms with the state. The registration fee would be $20 and the money would go toward fighting crime.

A second proposed law -- House Bill 5167 sponsored by state Rep. Kelly Cassidy, D-Chicago -- that would tack a 2 percent tax onto ammunition and generate an estimated $1.2 million to support trauma centers in high crime areas, was also approved.

The bills were passed through the committee Feb. 29 and have advanced to the full House for a second reading. When House action will be taken on the proposals is unknown. The House and Senate begin sessions in Springfield today.

Gun owners and organizations that support them, along with some state lawmakers, do not believe the proposed laws will reduce criminal gun use.

"Anyone doing wrong with the gun is not going to register it," said Henry Haddad, a private gun collector, at a gun show held at the Kankakee County Fairgrounds last weekend. "The only people who will register are people who want to do the right thing."

Davis agreed that criminals would not be registering handguns, but maintained that the registry would act as a tool in the fight against violence. Some guns being used to commit crimes may have come from law-abiding citizens whose guns were lost or stolen, he said.

"I think it provides useful evidence in trying to determine who committed the crime," Davis said.

When pressed for details on what information the registry would provide, he replied "insight."

Other lawmakers do not see the registry as providing usable information.

"Putting more restrictions, higher taxes and new registration laws on law-abiding gun owners has shown to have little effect on crime prevention," Barickman said.

Cassidy did not return calls inquiring about the proposed ammunition tax, but Barickman said it is unfair to impose a tax on only a select group of people, gun owners.

"If the sponsors feel that trauma centers are deserving of state revenue, they ought to pursue those measures through the budget," Barickman said.